Tag: alcohol

As you’ve probably guessed by looking at my gallery of recipes, we cook and bake a lot at Casa Melo. And because of that sometimes my pants don’t fit. We’ve been having a lot of fun in the “test kitchen” lately, so it’s about that time of the year where I take a little break from sugar. One of the hardest things for me to give up is fizzy drinks and cocktails, but now I figured out a way so I don’t have to.

Making a granita is easy, but you need to be prepared to walk back and forth to the freezer every 20 minutes for a couple of hours.

First you need a flat-bottomed dish, like a Pyrex baking pan. Empty your Zevia soda flavor of choice into the pan and let freeze for 20 minutes. Then stir with a fork, scraping down the sides and bottom of the pan. Repeat this every 20 minutes until you have a snow-like consistency.

Once that is done, you can assemble your cocktail. Start with combining your ingredients in a glass and then pile in the icy granita. Once the granita hits the alcohol, it’ll start to melt creating a slushy beverage much like an adult Slurpee. Basically what my dreams are made of.

Summer doesn’t officially start for a couple more weeks, but it sure feels like it’s here already. As I write this I am sweaty and parched because it’s currently 85 degrees and there’s not a cloud in the sky. With weather like this it’s very important to stay hydrated. I secretly hate water so I made a tropical and refreshing alcoholic drink instead. It’s low calorie too (if you care about that sort of thing).

I recently received a jar of these moonshine cherries from Ole Smoky and I am completely smitten. I’m sure I’m going to be using them for heaps of things, but you know me and boozy desserts. I immediately blended them up in a creamy milkshake with vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate shavings. They’re soaked in 100 proof moonshine so they have a serious kick. I was buzzing on both sugar and alcohol by the time I was halfway through the shake. Perfect.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up I figured I would share my recipe with you. Either you’re going to want to share this with a date, maybe your gals if you’re into the Galentine’s thing, or you’re going to drink the entire thing alone while watching some Audrey Hepburn movie on Netflix. Either way alcohol, ice cream, and chocolate are pretty standard on Valentine’s Day. Here’s how to mix them all together for a bomb.com milkshake.

Blend it all together with a splash of milk if needed. Serve with whipped cream, more chocolate, and a moonshine cherry on top.

Ole Smoky describes the cherries as “a sweet hello followed by a warm goodbye.” I can’t describe it any better. When mixed with creamy ice cream and bitter dark chocolate, it’s the ultimate dessert combo. Try it!

Thank you to Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine for providing product for this post.

After making my last batch of boozesicles I was feeling creative and took to the bar cart to see what other concoctions I could get into. I picked up the bourbon because it’s my husband’s fave and because he not so subtly requested it. We have a few pounds of dates left over from our trip to the date farm and I thought those would probably taste really good with bourbon. In fact when ever I mention making a recipe with dates he’s all “…with bourbon?”. He loves date shakes so, BOURBON DATE SHAKE…POPSICLE.These turned out just as I’d hoped. They’re creamy and they have little chunks of dates, just like a date shake spiked with bourbon.

In a small sauce pan, warm bourbon over a low flame. Roughly chop the dates and toss them in to the bourbon. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand to cool. The dates plump up and the bourbon gets all syrupy and delicious.
Next, blend the almond milk, the dates, 4 tbsp of the infused bourbon, and 4 tbsp simple syrup in a blender (or with an immersion blender). Pour into molds and freeze for at least 5 hours or until solid.

Yesterday I was feeling a little warm and said to myself “Man, I could really go for a popsicle right now.” I actually said it to my dog and she gave me a very approving look, so I dug out my little popsicle molds and perused the kitchen for a refreshing liquid to freeze in said pop molds.

Limeade. Ok cool….nah. Then I was all like, F- it I’m putting tequila in this. And Aperol sounds good because why not? No one is here. I’m free to ‘test’ (aka day drink) for blogging purposes. Um, YUM. I think the sweet/sour/bitter/citrus combo produced a pretty banging popsicle.

I present you with my Lime Tequila Aperol Boozesicle because I couldn’t think of a more clever name.

Quick tip: If you’re using wooden sticks, don’t put the sticks in until the pops are partially frozen, after about an hour in the freezer.
Quick tip 2: If you don’t have a popsicle mold you can use dixie cups and peel off the paper after freezing.

This is one of my favorite DIY household cleaning recipes. Vinegar has been a trusted household cleaner for decades and I started using this particular mixture a few years ago to clean our tile countertops and floors to avoid dulling residues. My dogs also suffer from allergies and I wanted to make sure the floors were safe for them too. It works swell on other surfaces as well. I’ll admit I love the Method and Mrs. Meyers line of cleaners because of their scents, but when those aren’t on hand, I fall back on my trusty homemade friend.

In summer I like to add orange or lemon peels. You can easily use essential oils to scent your spray as little or as much as you’d like. They work a little better since the scent is concentrated. I went with fresh sage for this batch because it was over growing and needed to be used.

Get a spray bottle and fill it up. If you’re recycling a bottle from a previous cleaner make sure you rinse it out well before mixing your ingredients (duh).

You’ll need-

Warm Water

White Vinegar

Isopropyl Alcohol

Dish Soap (a drop)

Sage (or your favorite essential oil or herb)

Put your leaves in the bottle and muddle them with a wooden spoon handle. You can also just twist them up or squeeze them in your hand. This activates the leaves to produce their natural oils. Make sure your herbs are very fresh so you get as much scent as possible from them. It’s really hard to completely mask the smell of vinegar but that’s just the price we pay for DIYing it. The smell quickly dissipates when it dries so it’s fiiiiine.

The mixture is easy. 1 part warm water, 1 part vinegar, 1/2 part alcohol.

Add a DROP of dish soap and shake it up.

The sage will permeate the mixture with its oil. Not only does it help cut the alcohol and vinegar scent some but Sage oil also acts as a natural antibacterial component.

There you go! Sage all-purpose spray cleanser.

;

(You should discard this mixture after a couple days. Otherwise it will begin to smell like pickles.)